Since Black Friday 2014 e-retailers have come to recognize that smartphones are now a major force in online shopping. However conversions remain a challenge for most e-commerce sites. The latest data from MarketLive reflect this as well, showing tremendous growth in smartphone traffic but more limited growth in smartphone transactions.

According to the company’s Q1 report (drawn from its client base):

Smartphone visits grew by 269 percent over Q1 2014, which was 27 percent of total traffic

Smartphone orders were up 104 percent, and reached 13 percent of all transactions

Overall mobile devices (including tablets) represented 41 percent of traffic in Q1 2015. But they generated only 26 percent of total e-commerce sales. It’s interesting to note that tablets’ share of traffic and revenue are identical, though overall tablet traffic and revenue are declining.

MarketLive pointed out what may be obvious but is still important: e-commerce sites are leaving mobile money on the table. Smartphone “traffic and cart additions rose significantly” vs. a year ago, as indicated above. However “nine out of ten smartphone carts were abandoned” in Q1. This goes to the user experience and friction in the checkout process.

Below is MarketLive’s data on traffic sources vs. revenue by channel.

Most smartphone-based e-commerce experiences are still awkward at best and checking out can be quite cumbersome. Hence the high abandonment rates — especially compared with tablets. Payments are a major pain point for consumers; retailers need to implement third party payment systems and remove friction from the checkout flow.

The idea of asking someone to register and enter address and credit card information on a smartphone is certain death for that sale.

There’s a great deal more data and information in the report, especially about social’s influence on e-commerce. The entire document can be obtained by contacting the company.

About The Author

Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog, Screenwerk, about connecting the dots between digital media and real-world consumer behavior. He is also VP of Strategy and Insights for the Local Search Association. Follow him on Twitter or find him at Google+.